Many people are unaware of the genocide that took place in Cambodia from 1974-1979 under the Khmer Rouge. During these four years between 1.5-3 million people were executed in a country of only 7 million. The exact number of victims may never be known. The circumstances surrounding the Khmer Rouge's rise to power are complicated and I do not understand all of the details. What I do know is that prior to the Khmer Rouge there was political instability in
Cambodia and the communist ruler Pol Pot was able to rise to power.
Pol Pot studied in Paris where he learned of communism and China's Great Leap Forward, an attempt to achieve an agrarian utopia. Once he rose to power he attempted the same in Cambodia. Everyone was hurriedly marched out of the cities into the countryside and many people died in this march. Those who survived were forced to work up to 18 hours a day doing farm-related work, being fed very little.
Other people, anyone related to the West (doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.) or former government officials, were put into work/torture camps. We visited the Toul Sleng (S21) prison camp in Phnom Penh. This was a former highschool that was quickly restructured to hold and torture prisoners. From here (and other places) many were sent to what is called the Killing Fields where people were murdered and put into mass graves. We also visited this site to better understand the history of the people we would be ministering to.
Visiting these sites was sobering, to say the least. It was especially difficult when we realized that children were murdered without thought. People want to point to atrocities like this as proof against the existence of God. I say that every single human being has the potential to commit similar horrors without the trans-formative power of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is only by His power that we can become anything more, anything good. Mark 10:18 says that "No one is good except God alone." We cannot be so foolish as to think that we can please God without Christ. This is why we are here in Cambodia, to point to the only One who can lift us out of this difficult world we live in. He is our hope, in Christ alone.
One of the torture rooms.
A map of the plan to move everyone out of the cities into the country.
A picture of people working in the fields
Pol Pot
This is one of the cells that the prisoners were held in.
This explains the significance of Case 002, one of the cases against the leaders of the Khmer Rouge. This was supposed to take place at the end of 2010/beginning 2011 yet the crimes were committed in the 1970's.. The trials of those who are responsible for this genocide have been incredibly delayed.
The man on the left behind the table is one of the 7 who survived the Toul Sleng prison.
Ticket to the Killing Fields Museum
This is a temple to those who were killed here. The bones of those who have been unearthed are kept inside.
These massive impressions are mass graves.
Basically everywhere is a graveyard.
They call this tree the "Magic Tree," and from it speakers were hung to cover the noise of the victims.
As you can imagine this has impacted this country dramatically. 60% of the people are under 18 years old and the political/educational systems are far from acceptable. I know this was quite a "heavy" post, but it is the past of the people we will be working with. Please pray for/with us and for the people of Cambodia in our ten weeks here. We are so grateful for your prayers.
MattNCatie
No comments:
Post a Comment